News release

Indianapolis, IN --- Community Health Network announces that its hospitals have received Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC). SCPC is an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

Hospitals that have received SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, The Indiana Heart Hospital, Community Hospital East, Community Hospital South and Community Howard Regional Health engaged in rigorous evaluation by SCPC for its ability to assess, diagnose, and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To the communities served by these hospitals, this means that processes are in place that meet strict criteria aimed at:

* Reducing the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment* Treating patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved* Monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital

“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” stated Sandeep Dube, M.D., Community Heart and Vascular cardiologist and medical director of catheterization labs. “The average patient arrives in the emergency department more than two hours after the onset of symptoms, but what they don’t realize is that the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient.”

Community'’s state-of-the-art care encompasses the entire continuum of care for the heart patient and includes such focal points as dispatch, Emergency Medical System, emergency department, cath lab, Community'’s quality assurance plan, and Community'’s community outreach program. “By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center with PCI, The Indiana Heart Hospital, Community Hospital East, Community Hospital South and Community Howard Regional Health have enhanced the quality of care for the cardiac patient and have demonstrated a commitment to higher standards when caring for our patients,” said Roz Brown, R.N., director of catheterization labs at Community Health Network .

About the Society of Chest Pain Centers The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is an international not-for-profit organization whose mission is to transform cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction. As the only cross-specialty Society, SCPC provides the support needed for hospital systems to effectively bridge existing gaps in treatment by providing the tools, education and support necessary to successfully navigate the changing face of healthcare. For more information on SCPC, accreditation and certification opportunities, visit www.scpcp.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.

About Community Health NetworkRanked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor’s offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes. As a non-profit health system with over 200 sites of care and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services. To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.